Cap or hat holder



Nov. 5, 1957 A. J. WERBNER CAP 0R HAT HOLDER Filed Nov. 1, 1955 NVENToR.

ALVIN Jp- WEZBNEK.

CAP R HAT HOLDER Alvin J. Werbner, San Antonio, Tex.

Application November 1, 1955, Serial No. 544,330

2 Claims. (Cl. 224-5) This invention relates to a hanger, of a type particularly adapted to be connected to a cap or hat of the type having a bill and an insignia immediately thereabove, such as the garrison caps worn by men in certain of the military services, policemen, firemen, etc.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a hanger which will be particularly adapted to be connected to the insignia of a cap of the type referred to, in a manner whereby the hanger will be completely invisible when the hat is worn, but will be so located as to be readily extendable for the purpose of suspending the hat from ones belt. The invention has particularly effective usage by service men at meal times, since it is necessary under these circumstances for one to remove his cap, and it is exceedingly diilicult to lind a convenient, available space on which the cap may be supported. Is accordance with the present invention, the hanger, in a situation of this type, can be extended and connected to the belt of the users uniform, so that the cap can be comfortably supported from the belt.

One important object of the present invention is to provide a hanger of the type referred to which, when the hat is being worn and the hanger has been retracted thereinto, will not only be invisible, but also will not press against the wearers head or otherwise cause discomfort.

Another object of importance is to provide a hanger as described which will be swiftly attachable to the insignia of the hat, without requiring modification or redesign Yof the attaching means whereby said insignia is secured to the hat.

nited States Patent y Another object is to so form the hanger as to provide thereon means'readily engageable over a conventional belt, with maximum speed and ease so far as the user is concerned.

Another object is to form the hanger in such a manner that it will, when extended,'be placed under a slight tension, tending to hold the hat iirmly against the side of the wearer, so that the hat will not tend to swing loosely from the beltrand will not interfere with the wearers movements. v

A further object of importance is to provide a hanger as described which will be capable of manufacture at a very low cost, but will yet be so designed as to permit the same to be used over a long period of time while standing heavy usage, with minimum possibility of its becoming worn or broken.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a hat equipped with a hanger formed according to the present invention, with the hat being supported from the belt of ones garments;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the hat suspended from the belt of the garment, the

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device constituting the present invention being shown in side elevation;

Figure 3 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of the hat as it appears when worn, with the hanger retracted thereinto;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, still further enlarged, of the hanger per se; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the hanger in its retracted position, the hat being illustrated fragmentarily.

The reference numeral 10 generally designates the hanger device formed according to the present invention, while at 12 there has been similarly designated a hat of the type with which the hanger is associated.` The illustrated hat is a military garrison cap, but it will be understood that the hanger can be used with any of various caps or hats having an insignia attached to the hat by means of a connecting element extending to the inside of the hat.

The hanger, when in use as shown in Figures 1 and 2, is extendable out of the hat, and is attachable to the belt 14 of the users garments. At other times, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, the hanger is retracted into the hat and will be invisible when so retracted.

Considering the particular construction of the hanger,

this includes an inner connecting element 16 formed as a at, substantially circular piece of thin sheet metal integrally formed on its periphery with a rounded, radial extension 18 formed with a closed slot 20 extending radially of the connecting element.

I Hooked at one end to the connecting element, at a location diametrically opposite the extension 18, is an elongated, Vcontractile spring 22 constituting a resiliently extensible, ilexible connecting member extending between the inner connecting element 16 and an outer connecting element 23.

The outer connecting element 23 is also formed from a small piece of sheet metal material, and is bent to a vU-shape, so as to include plate-like, laterally spaced parallel legs 24, 26y connected by a bight 28 curved through substantially y degrees of a circle.

Formed in the inner end portion of leg 26, medially between the opposite side edges of said leg, is a large opening 30, continuing into the bight 28, and then extended beyond the bight into the inner end portion of Ithe leg 24 as at 32, the portion 32 "end of the extension 34 of the opening 30, 32. 50

"is of conventional design, including a hard bill and an .insignia 36 disposed above the bill. jan outerl portion,

As previously mentioned, the illustrated cap or hat 12 The insignia 36 has having a suitable emblem depicted thereon, and secured to said outer portion and extending throughthe material of the cap is a threaded stud 38 on whichis threaded'a nut 40. This, of course, is conventional and does not per se constitute part of the present invention.

To attach the cap to the insignia, one need only remove the circular nut 40, after which the stud 38 is extended through the slot-like aperture 20 of the connector element 16. The nut is then threaded back on the stud, as shown in Figure 5, and this more or less permanently connects the hanger to the cap.

When the hanger is not in use, one slips the outer connector element 23 over the nut, the portion 30 of the opening of said outer connector element providing a clearance space for the nut as shown in Figure 5. The stud 38 at this time engages in the extension 34 of the opening of the outer connector element, with the spring 22 ilexing as shown in Figure 5. The device is thus wholly recessed within the cap, immediately in back of the insignia 36, where it will not contact the head of the wearer.

At such time as it is desired to support the cap from the belt 14, one simply disengages the connector elementl 23 from the stud 38, and extends the spring 22 and the outer connector element as shown in Figure l with the element 23 engaging over the belt 14. The spring under these circumstances, as shown in Figure 2, is placed under a slight tension, tending to pull the cap toward the body of the wearer so that the cap will be firmly supported against the wearers garments and will not swing loosely upon the belt.

It will be seen that the device is one that may be manufactured at very low cost, and further, that the device can be readily associated with any of various types of caps of the general kind shown, without modification or redesign of said caps or ofthe insignia connecting means conventionally provided therein. Further, the device is wholly invisible when not in use, but can still be extended to a selected, adjusted extent swiftly and easily whenever the cap is to be supported from the belt or from a similar support means. The device, additionally, is capable of manufacture at very low cost, being formed simply from two pieces of thin sheet metal, plastic, or the like, connected by a single spring.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hat hanger for a hat that includes a nut and stud at its inside, comprising: an inner connecting element in the form of a plate apertured to receive the stud; an elongated, flexible element connected at one end to the plate at a location spaced from the aperture; and an outer connecting element formed to a U-shaped' to embrace a support from which the hat is to be suspended, the flexible element being connected at its other end to the outer connecting' element, said outer connecting, element including wide, plate-like legs having inner end portions connected by a bight, said outer connecting element having a large opening formed in the bight and legs inwardly from the sides of the legs, said large opening extending continuously within said inner end portions of the legs and within the bight so as to define a recess at the bight endA of the outer connecting element f or accommodating the stud and nut on shifting of the, outer connecting element, bight foremost, radially `inwardly toward the stud with one of the legs entering between the stud` and inner connecting element, said opening having a communicating, narrow, slot-like extension formed in said one leg to receive the stud with the nut overlying said one leg to clampably engage the same between the nut and inner connecting element said opening having an intermediate portion extending within the bight, and having end portions in substantial registration with each other in said inner end portions of the legs, the opening and its extension being confined wholly to the bight and to the inner end portions of the legs inwardly from the side edges of the `bight and of said inner end portions of the legs.

2. A hat hanger for a hat that includes a nut and stud at its inside, comprising: an inner connecting element in the form of a plate apertured to receive the stud; an elongated, exible element connected at one end to the plate at a location spaced from the aperture; and an outer connecting element formed to a Ushape to embrace a supporty from which the hat is to be suspended, the flexible element being connected at its other end to the outer connecting element, said outer connecting element including wide, plate-like legs having inner end portions connected by a bight, said outer connecting element having a large opening formed in the bight and legs inwardly from the sides of the legs, said large opening extending continuously within said inner end portions of the legs and within the bight so as to deney a recess at the bight end of' the outer connecting element for accommodating the stud and nut on` shifting of the outer connecting elenient, bight foremost, radially inwardly toward the stud with one of the legs. entering between the stud and inner connecting element, said opening having a communicating, narrow, slot-like extension formed in said one leg to receive the stud with the nut overlying said one leg to Vclznnpably engage the same between the nut and inner connecting element said opening having an intermediate portion extending within the bight, and having end portions in substantial registration with each other in said inner endj portions ofthe legs, the opening and its extension being confined wholly to the bight and to the inner end portions of the legs inwardly from the side edges of thebight and of said inner end portions of the legs, the connection of saidV one end of the exible elernent to the inner connecting element being spaced from the-stud-receiving aperturel of the inner connecting element a distance such that said one end of the flexible element willl be disposed' outwardly from the outer connecting element in the stud-receiving positions of the connecting elements.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED S'I`AI`ES PATENTS 2,367,109 Fay Jan. 9, 1945 2,771,230 Fitzpatrick Nov. 20, 1950 2,653,875 Hintsala Dec. 29, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS '16,929 Norway May 30, 1950 718,958 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1954 

